As if he was not good already, Miggy is on pace for a career year.

The trade deadline has officially passed, but expect to see some waiver wire trades with the holes left by some of the teams. It may, in fact be a necessity for a few teams, the Mets, Brewers, and Cardinals, come to mind, if they are to have playoff hopes.

National League East

Atlanta Braves

In the East, the Braves have made everyone stand up and take notice after acquiring two of the best players available at the trade deadline. If one were to judge a trade’s success solely on a few games, Mark Teixeira’s coming to the Braves would be one of the best in recent history. Given that he is roughly twice the player that Scott Thorman has shown to be, it seems hard to believe that the Braves will end up regretting this one, ever. Well, at least until the big paycheck comes due.

Hot: Tex started his National League career like me in a slow pitch softball league – and they don’t call me Donnie Softball for nothing – going 5-for-15 with a double, three homers, five runs, seven RBI, and two walks.

Cold: Any longtime readers of this column are sure to remember the soft part in my heart (and head) that I have for Julio Franco. The only major leaguer older than I am still has the ability to play well enough to keep his quest alive to play till he is 50 as evidenced by going 9-for-36 since signing on with the Braves, including three doubles and seven RBI. And, if anyone watched the games, it was obvious he was a positive addition to the team. Unfortunately, he receives the “cold” tag because he was designated for assignment for the second time in less than a month. Here is hoping that he catches on with some other team.

Florida Marlins

The Marlins have not really clicked this year, and with the Phillies, Mets, and Braves going at it strong at the top of the division, one wonders if season ticket holders at Dolphin Stadium will still be stuck with a team who will, disappointingly, just be dropping further and further behind.

Hot: The last week has Jeremy Hermida, Josh Willingham, Hanley Ramirez, and Miguel Cabrera all hitting at least .389. However, like so many weeks, Miggy has shown up as the top offensive player on the team, equaling his career best batting average of .339 and his career low in homers (26) already. He is on pace for the best slugging percentage of his career at .618. This week he had three homers, eight RBI, six runs, and a .440 batting average. Also, of note this week is Byung-Hyun Kim, who struck out 13 in 10.1 innings over two starts and got one of the team’s two wins.

Cold: With Scott Olsen and Rick Vanden Hurk both having starts in which they each allowed six earned runs in five innings and had WHIP’s of over 2.00, it is hard to not name them here. However, since Dan Uggla had me believing in him again, then hit .160 over 25 at bats with six strikeouts, he gets his name in this column again.

New York Mets

They still possess the best record in the NL and with a four and a half game lead, look very good at making the Wild Card position at the very least. They have been criticized for not making any pitching trade deadline moves, but they hope to have Pedro Martinez back at the end of this month, which would be an obvious shot in the arm. In addition, they brought up former workhorse Brian Lawrence, because you can never have too many wily veterans.

Hot: The last week has seen the Mets piling on the offense; they scored almost six runs per game over the last seven. They also hit nine homers and stole nine bases. As such, several of their players have good lines The most impressive of which is David Wright who stole two bases, has 12 hits including a homer, and nine walks for an on-base percentage of .656, drove in five and scored eight times. Of particular note is Moises Alou, off the DL on July 27. He was one for his first eleven upon returning, but since is seven for fourteen with two homers, four runs, four RBI, and a stolen base.

Cold: Luis Castillo was hitting .304 for the Twins before the trade but has gone four for 20 with only one run scored since arriving in New York.

Philadelphia Phillies

This week has seen Michael Bourn, Shane Victorino, Ryan Madson, and Rod Barajas all hit the DL as the Phillies continue to be plagued by injuries. The team has used 26 pitchers already with eleven different starters. Kyle Lohse is the most recent “victim”. After already allowing 16 home runs pitching for the Reds, one wonders how much better he could do in Philly.

Hot: Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins get beat out for top offensive honors despite three homer and four stolen bases performances by catcher Chris Coste. In five games encompassing 17 unofficial at-bats (he got one walk), he hit .438 with a homer, four runs scored, and seven RBI. Brett Myers has gone three out of four appearances since his return without allowing a run. In fact, not allowing any hits in those three games. He also has three strikeouts in 3.1 innings.

Cold: Ryan Howard is the main hope that the Phillies have of making the Wild Card or winning the division. He batted .280 in June followed by .323 for July. Most recently, he is hitting .192 over his last 26 at-bats with 16 strikeouts. He has managed six walks in that time, but he still only scored twice and had three RBI.

Washington Nationals

Are they truly the hottest team in baseball right now, or is it just a weird skew in the law of averages? Admittedly sweeping the Reds at home and winning a home series against the Cardinals is not something worth writing a Homeric poem about, but it is still part of winning eight out of ten.

Hot: Over the last week the Nationals have had some pretty good performances from their starting pitchers. John Lannan allowed only two earned runs, Matt Chico allowed two earned runs, Mike Bacsik allowed three earned runs, struck out six and only allowed three hits and no walks, Joel Hanrahan allowed three runs, struck out seven and allowed four hits and one walk, and Tim Redding only allowed two earned runs in 12.1 innings over two starts and struck out 16 while only walking six. In addition, Chad Cordero got two saves and a win.

Cold: Of the team’s regular players, Brian Schneider was 2-for-13 and Austin Kearns had the next lowest average at .261. The other side of the pitching staff is Billy Traber who allowed five earned runs in 3.2 innings in his start with eight hits and two walks.

Our non-baseball names of the week include Neifi Perez – even when he was playing, it was like he was out of the game, and now he has plenty of time to contemplate that; Neil Gaiman, whose Stardust comes out this month and Beowulf, starring Crispin Glover and Anthony Hopkins, amongst others, comes out this Fall; and The Company, premiering tonight on TNT from Ridley Scott.

Questions and comments may be sent to donwebster@sportsgrumblings.com.